the rich hunt

Who’s Stealing Americans’ Jobs Now?

Damn this financial crisis. Ben Bernanke may have called the recession over, but the unemployment rate is still rising: economists expect the national unemployment rate to hit 9.8 percent in September, and it’s a staggering 10.5 percent in New York. Whose fault is this? At what group can we direct our blind fury at this state of affairs? The answer is still the same: bankers. Having blown up their own field, they are now creeping into other industries and taking the kinds of jobs that used to be filled by normal, hardworking Americans.

Since the crash of 2008, scores of financial professionals have been taking their math skills and their ultracompetitive, insane work ethics and imposing them on formerly easygoing, laissez-faire industries, making everyone in those fields look like total slackers in the process. They’ve become shop owners, real-estate agents, yoga instructors, farmers, and high-school teachers. They’re even becoming vendors of street food. This last group, in particular, is sharky as all hell.

There was former NYSE trader Bill Sonner, of course, who undercut the competition with his Mister Softee truck: “I knew I would beat him,” he said.

The Schnitzel & Things truck, founded by former investment banker Oleg Voss, is scooping up all kinds of “fanfare,” and Voss also made a name for himself by parking illegally and fighting with his neighbors.

And CNBC spoke to Fares “Freddie” Zeidaies, a falafel salesman whose newfound pleasure is putting his competitors out of business.

You know, I used to see people going into the restaurants — I have a few restaurants across the street from me — now, they don’t stop over there, they stop by me,” Zeidaies said.


Phew, we’re glad that a basic cost-benefit analysis probably shows that there is no point in their trying to take over media jobs. But think: This is only the beginning! What is going to happen when people like JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon start opening neighborhood bars? We need to stop bankers from taking over American jobs and upsetting our economy further, starting now!

Street-Cart Economy: Banker Savors Life as Food Vendor [CNBC]

Who’s Stealing Americans’ Jobs Now?